Many faces making one - Fictional Portraits 2019

By Kernan Andrews Galway Advertiser, Thu, Apr 25, 2019

The Reluctant Bride from the Fictional Portraits series.

TAKE AN image of say, 10 different people, and digitally combine them into until they become one face. It is a portrait of someone who does not, and has never existed, made up of images of people who do.

Following his 2011 Galway International Arts Festival exhibition, Fictional Portraits, where 503 people sat for their portrait over the course of 10 days, artist Paul Maye is working on a new series in collaboration with photographer Reg Gordon.

As with previous versions, Maye digitally combines small facial elements from various portraits to create a new photographic portrait of a person who bears no resemblance to any of the original participants. The photo accompanying this article, for example, 'The Reluctant Bride', is a digital composite of 10 individuals. Each sitting will take approximately five minutes. See www.paulmaye.com